Trans-Canada Highway work in Cornwall expected to snarl traffic

More Cornwall bypass construction to begin Saturday, continue through the week

Work on the Trans-Canada Highway extension in Cornwall, P.E.I., will pick up again on Monday, with traffic delays expected until mid-to-late July.

Darrell Evans, the assistant director of capital projects with the province, said people should aim to give themselves an extra 10 minutes of travel time for the first few weeks of construction, and 15 to 20 minutes in the following weeks.

"We will try our best to do two lanes inbound in the morning and two lanes outbound in the evening," he said. "That won't always be the case, because just construction, the nature of it is, we can't always do that. But that is our intent, to keep traffic moving as quickly and as smoothly as possible."

The provincial government said in a news release that this phase of construction will include the following:

- A new roundabout at the North River intersection.

- Reconstruction of the highway from the North River intersection to the point near Poplar Island where construction concluded in 2016.

- A full median to eliminate left-turns along that section of highway.

- Substantial work on the North River Bridge.

Motorists will need to navigate detour routes at the North River intersection during construction, but two-way traffic will be maintained throughout, the province said.

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